Hot-air register



2 SheetB -Sheet 1.

(NoMo'deL) W HIGHTON Hot'Air Register.

No. 239,248. :Patented March 22,1881.

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W. HIGHTON- Hot Air Register.

No. 239,248. Patented March 22,1881;

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WITNEESES UNITED STAT S PATENT FFlCE \VILLIAM HIGHTQN, OF MALDEE, MASSACHUSETTS.

HOT-AIR REGISTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 239,248, dated March 22, 1881.

Application filed February I, 1881. (N 0 model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM Hren'ron, of Malden, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Ventilators or Hot-Air Registers, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference bein g had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specilication, in which- Figure l is a front elevation of my improved hot-air register, the valves being open. Fig.

2 is a similar elevation with the valves closed. Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line a; a" of i Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a plan of the open-work wheel by which the valves are actuated.

My present invention relates to an improvement upon the hot-air register for which Letters Patent of the United States were granted to me on the 23d (lay ofJune, 1868, No.79,226, in which the rotating shutters or valves were connected with and actuated by a wheel pivoted at its center to the grate or frontplate of the register; and my invention consists in the combination, with a hot-air register thus constructed, of a series of letters or symbols, a portion of each of which is on the wheehand the remaining portion on the grate or front plate of the register, the arrangement being such that when the valves are moved in one direction by the wheel. the different portions of the letters or symbols will be brought into such relative positions with respect to each other as to form complete letters or symbols indicating that the valves are open, and when moved in the opposite direction complete letters or symbols indicating that the valves are shut, thus a\ *oidingthenecessity of alternately exposing and concealing, as heretofore, the letters or symbols employed in such registers to indicate the condition of the valves, and also enabling me to so construct the openwork front plate as to. olfer the least possible obstruction to the free passage of air to the valves.

In the said drawings, A represents the ornamental open-work front plate or grate of a hot-air register, within the rectangular frame B of which are pivoted the rotary shutters or valves G, each of which is connected with a sliding bar, D, which is reciprocated why the movement of an open-work wheel, E, pivoted at its center to the under face of the grate A at the point 5, a lug, a, onthe bar D fitting between two lugs or projections on the under side of an arm, Z), on the wheel E, a movement of which in the proper direction will cause the valves to be opened or closed, as desired, the method of connecting the valves with and operating them by the wheel being substantially the same as that described in my aforesaid Letters Patent of 1868. The wheel E is moved by the hand or footapplied to either one of the four projections 12 c d e thereon, and these projections are provided, as usual, with apertures f, to facilitate the attachment thereto of cords for operating the register when placed so high in a room as to be beyond the reach of a person standing upon the floor, such cords being arranged in two opposite openings, f, of the wheel E. The wheel E is provided with four U-shaped pieces or projections, g, arranged around its circumference at equal distances apart, and upon the central portion of the grate or front A of the register are arranged, at equal distances apart and contiguous to the projections 9, four similar U-shaped projections, h, the arrangement being such that when the wheel E is moved,

gas in Fig.1, so as to open the valves, its projections 9 will be brought into such relative positions with respect to the stationary projections it on the front plate, A, as to form four complete letters 0, the initial letterof the word Open, thus indicating clearly and distinctly that the valves are open, the two portions 9 h of each letter, when in this position, being exactly opposite each other. When, however, the wheel E is moved so as to shut the valves, as seen in Fig. 2, the projections 9 will be moved around into such a position that the end 7 of each one will be brought opposite to or in line with the end 8 of the contiguous projection h of the front plate, A, thus forming four complete letters S, the initial letter of the word Shut, and thereby indicating that the valves are shut, an exceedingly simple device being thus provided for showing at aglance-the condition of the valves, whetheropen or shut; and by thus forming each letter of two separate portions, which are always exposed to view and adapted to form two different letters, according as the wheel E is moved one way or the other, the necessity of alternately exposing and concealing different letters or symbols to indicate the condition of the valves,

as heretofore, is avoided, thus simplifying the construction, and enabling the grate or front plate, A, to be made much more open, thereby offering much less obstruction to the passage of air to the valves than is the case with a register constructed to alternately expose and conceal theindicatin g letters or symbols, which is a great advantage, as it increases the ventilating or heating capacity of a register of a given size.

Theindicating letters or symbols are preferably gilded or colored, in order to make a strong contrast with the surrounding metal, thus rendering them distinct and visible at a considerable distance Another advantage incident to my im proved .construction is, that the letters or symbols, being on the same plane as the front plate, are rendered more prominent and distinct, while the gilding or coloring thereon cannot be rubbed off or defaced by the movement of the wheel, as is liable to occur in the old construction from contact with the surface behind which they are moved to conceal them from view.

I prefer to employ four letters, as shown, in order that they may indicate clearly the condition of the valves when the register is set in the wall with either end or either side upward, but do not wish to confine myself to any particular number of letters or symbols, as the number may be varied as desired.

Instead of initial letters, a series of letters adapted to form the words Open and Shut, or others of similar import, may be used, a portion of each letter being on the wheel E and the remaining portion on the front plate, A,

the arrangement of the separate parts of the letters with respect to each other being such that when the wheel E is moved to open the valves the word Open will be formed by bringing together the necessary parts of the letters, and when the wheel E is moved to shut the valves these letters will be broken apart or separated to render them unintelligible, and at the same time the necessary portions of other letters will be brought together to form I am aware that initial letters or symbols I have been applied to hot-air registers and adapted to be alternately exposed to View and concealed therefrom to indicate the condition of the valves. To such construction, however, I lay no claim, as the letters or symbols employed by me to indicate the condition of the valves are at all times exposed plainly to view; but

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a ventilator 0r hot-air register, the combination, with the grate or front plate, A, and the valve-operating wheel or device E, of a series of letters or symbols adapted to remain constantly in view, each formed partly on the grate or front plate, A, and partly on the wheel E, the said parts of letters or symbols having such relative arrangement with respect to each other that a movement of the wheel in one direction will cause them to form complete letters or symbols indicating that the valves are open, and a movement of the wheel in the opposite direction will form complete letters or symbols indicating that the valves are shut, substantially as described.

2. In a ventilator or hot-air register, the combination, with the grate or front plate, A, and the valve-operatin g wheel or device E, of one or more letters or symbols adapted to remain constantly in view, each formed of two parts-one on the front plate and the other on the wheel-the two parts of each letter or symbol being so constructed and arranged as to form, when in different relative positions with respect to each other, two different letters or symbols for indicating different conditions of the valves, whether open or shut, substantially as set forth.

Witness my hand this 29th day of January, A. D. 1881.

WILLIAM HIGHTON.

In presence of- P. E. TESCHEMACHER, W. J. CAMBRIDGE. 

